the whimsical adventures of an author

The Balanced Writer… Or Not

Hello from a lovely snowing Wednesday morning! Yesterday we got our first good snow of the season and it’s been delightfully received by the young inhabitants where I live. It’s crazy how sometimes the weather changes. We’ll go for weeks with no snow and then boom, we wake up to find several inches on the ground and more falling.

That’s kinda how it is with story ideas.

I’ll endure days, weeks, sometimes months of no inspiration when it comes to my writing. I’ll have to struggle through each day, trying to get words to show up on my paper, knowing that I’ll probably end up deleting them later on, and then boom. One day I sit down to write and I can barely keep up with all the thoughts tumbling through my fingers and onto my page.

So, what’s the secret to being a balanced writer?

Sadly, I haven’t found the answer to that question yet. I do have some tips though for what I do to at least keep a semblance of a routine in my writing life and maybe I’ll eventually be able to trick myself into always having the inspiration I need.

#1. I write on my story every day. Some days when I’m extra busy or don’t feel a single shred of inspiration I just write a hundred or so words; but I always write at least a hundred words on my story.

#2. I take a walkif I can’t think of anything to write. Often times by the time I get back home I’ll feel rejuvenated enough to make some words appear on the page. I also hope this works in kinda the same way as Pavlov’s dogs and eventually I’ll automatically write several thousand words each time I get home from walking.

#3. When I’m overcome with an avalanche of ideas, I write them downso I can use them later on when I’m going through one of my dry times. Actually, this isn’t something I’m actively doing at this time in my life (which isn’t good), but I’ve done it in the past and it works. I need to get back to it.

#4. When I do find inspiration after a dry spell, I try and Set aside everything elsefor a little while so I can focus on my writing. This doesn’t always happen, but it’s worth a try.

What about you? Are you enjoying the snow? Can you relate to having dry spells and then blizzards that seemingly spring out of nowhere? How do you find balance?

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2 thoughts on “The Balanced Writer… Or Not”

This is a great post. I've been trying to do more creative things and write something, even if it's only a short little paragraph of a story each day but there are always times when it's hard to get anything down on the page. I love all of your snowy photos! – Tasha